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UK blows lead, holds off Vandy

By TERESA M. WALKER

AP Sports Writer

NASHVILLE — Kyle Wiltjer’s jumper with 1:57 left put Kentucky ahead to stay, and the Wildcats kicked off their Southeastern Conference schedule Thursday night by holding off Vanderbilt 60-58 after blowing a 16-point lead.

The Wildcats (10-4) also seemed to get a bit of help from officials in the final seconds.

Nerlens Noel hit a jumper with 17.3 seconds left that went in after the shot clock buzzer went off, and Vanderbilt coach Kevin Stallings took a timeout to plead his case. Officials didn’t review the play. Kedren Johnson made a 3 with 7.6 seconds left to pull Vandy within 60-58, and Kyle Fuller stole the inbound pass with 6.7 seconds to go giving Vandy a last chance.

But Johnson’s 3 hit the rim just before the buzzer as the rally fell short for Vanderbilt (6-7).

This was a rematch of the SEC tournament championship game that Vanderbilt won last March for its first such title in 61 years. Wiltjer is one of only five players combined on the rosters left from that game, and all the youth is why neither team was ranked in this game for the first time since Feb. 17, 2009.

Kentucky coach John Calipari started his latest crop of freshmen for a second straight game, and the Wildcats looked good in taking the lead from the opening bucket and leading 35-24 at halftime. Vanderbilt had won six of the previous nine games against Kentucky in Memorial Gym, and the Commodores finally stymied Kentucky when they went to a zone defense.

The Wildcats missed 12 straight shots from the floor. Vanderbilt took advantage, trailing 47-31 with 13:48 left when Sheldon Jeter hit a jumper to start an 18-0 run.

Shelby Moats hit a 3, and Dai-Jon Parker added a 3 to get the Commodores rolling. Kentucky went cold too, missing 12 straight shots from the floor. Johnson’s driving layup tied it up at 47, and Jeter’s dunk capped the run and gave Vanderbilt its first lead of the game at 49-47 with 6:11 left.

The teams swapped the lead twice with three ties down the stretch. Johnson’s bucket for Vandy tied it for the last time at 54, then Wiltjer’s long jumper put Kentucky ahead to stay to set up the frantic ending.

Kentucky won its SEC opener for the 23rd time in 26 seasons, improving to 62-18 all-time.

All the practice since Kentucky’s easy 90-38 win over Eastern Michigan sure paid off early. Harrow hit a 3-pointer within the first 90 seconds, and the Wildcats dominated Vanderbilt early.

Vanderbilt came in scoring 37.3 percent of its points off 3-pointers, and the Commodores missed their first 10. Their shooting woes extended all over the court as they also missed easy layups when they did get close enough to the basket to shoot. Kentucky disrupted them repeatedly, blocking six shots alone in the first half.

The Commodores didn’t hit a 3 until 1:22 remained in the first half when Johnson hit from beyond the arc, and Odom added another just before halftime. Vanderbilt wound up hitting 8 of 30 from 3-point range.

Belmont 107, Southeast Missouri State 72: Ian Clark tied a season high and Trevor Noack set a career mark as each scored 30 points to help Belmont set a season scoring high in a 107-72, Ohio Valley Conference victory over Southeast Missouri State Thursday night.

Clark was 12-of-14 shooting and made 4 of 5 from 3-point range, while Noack made 10 of 16 from the floor and 3 of 5 from deep. Kerron Johnson added 13 points and J.J. Mann 11 as 11 Bruins scored.

Belmont (12-4, 3-0) shot 61.5 percent (40 of 65) from the field and made 11 of 23 3-point tries.

The Redhawks (10-8, 2-2) committed 20 turnovers while making 44.4 percent (28 of 63) of their shots, though only 26.9 percent (7 of 26) from 3-point range.

Tyler Stone led Southeast Missouri State with 18 points.

Belmont embarked on a 12-2 run early for a 19-9 lead and led 48-29 by halftime.

Tennessee State 80, Tennessee-Martin 48: Kellen Thornton had 13 points and seven rebounds, and Patrick Miller scored 12 points to lead Tennessee State to an 80-48 victory over Tennessee-Martin in an Ohio Valley Conference game on Thursday night.

Jay Harris had nine points, and M.J. Rhett, Jordan Cyphers and Jordan Gaither scored eight each for the Tigers (10-7, 4-0), who have won five consecutive games.

Miles Taylor scored 25 points to lead the Skyhawks (4-13, 1-4).

Tennessee State trailed 12-7 in the early going, but the Tigers went on a 12-2 run for a 24-14 advantage with 9:24 remaining and led 46-24 at halftime.

Tennessee State shot 51 percent from the field (25 of 49) and 47.6 percent from the 3-point line (10 of 21). Tennessee-Martin shot 32.8 percent (20 of 61) and 8.3 percent (1 of 12).

Chattanooga 70, The Citadel 65: Z. Mason had 15 points and eight rebounds, and Chattanooga pulled away from The Citadel for a 70-65 victory in a Southern Conference game Thursday night, handing the Bulldogs their ninth consecutive loss.

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